Results: Loss widened to $4 million (one cent per diluted share) from $909,000 (loss of 0 cents per share) in the same quarter a year earlier.

Revenue: Rose 2% to $611.4 million from the year earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations:WEN fell short of the mean analyst estimate of 4 cents per share. Analysts were expecting revenue of $619.3 million.

Quoting Management: Emil Brolick, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Wendy’s Company said, “We generated transaction growth, which contributed to a 1.8% same-store sales increase at Wendy’s North America Company-operated restaurants, during the third quarter of 2011. Wendy’s remains on track to produce positive transactions for the year.

Key Stats:

The company has now fallen short of analyst estimates for the last three quarters. It missed the mark by one cent in the second quarter and by one cent in the first quarter.

Looking Forward: Analysts appear increasingly optimistic about the company’s results for the next quarter. The average estimate for the fourth quarter has moved up from 3 cents a share to 4 cents over the last ninety days. For the fiscal year, the average estimate has moved up from 14 cents a share to 15 cents over the last thirty days.